The water in your glass is older than the dinosaurs, older than the planet's first life — the same finite supply, recycled endlessly through ocean, sky, land and living things. This episode follows a drop of water on its journey through the water cycle, the great engine that shapes weather, carves landscapes, and delivers the fresh water all life depends on.

You'll come away understanding evaporation and condensation, how clouds and rain form, where groundwater fits in, why fresh water is surprisingly scarce, and how the cycle connects the whole planet.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) – "The water cycle"; USGS – "The Water Cycle"; NASA Earth Observatory – water cycle ...